The whirlwind £1.25 million refurbishment and modernisation of a former major potato packing facility by Frupac, a subsidiary of Produce World, has provided tailor-made facilities for two of Waitrose’s category suppliers - British & Brazilian and Suncrop Produce, both of which were suddenly faced with a surprise move when their premises at Thrapston, then owned by the Greenery, were sold.
“While, as English grower/packers, the experience of the Produce World group was previously with a wide range of vegetable and root crops, the establishment of Frupac gave us the opportunity to become a major service provider in the fruit and salad sector,” says Steve Bell, Frupac’s business unit director.
“The facilities are working really well, and geographically our Yaxley site in Peterborough - five minutes from the A1 motorway - has proved to be in exactly the right place.”
In another sense the timing proved significant as it also coincided with Waitrose’s acquisition of some 20 stores from Morrisons, many of which are further north than its traditional locations in the South East.
As a result, the corresponding surge in volume has led to a further £750,000 investment on the site.
“There are now two more ripening chambers, giving us a total capacity of 60 pallets and additional palletised chilled storage space,” says Bell. “As part of the original plan there are three intake docks so the cold chain process is continuous when product is delivered.”
A heat tunnel machine, with a throughput of 25 packs a minute, has been added to the battery of labelling, auto-check weighers, flow-wrappers and packing machines.
“We employ over 60 full-time staff and almost a similar amount of temporary personnel to cope with seasonal surges,” he says - an aspect which is appreciated by the tenants.
Chris Clapham, chairman of B&B, confirms: “The move went very well, and Frupac really pulled out the stops to get us into a new home.
“Subsequently, because we in effect started with a blank sheet of paper we were able to ensure that there was a virtually perfect product flow which reduced handling and enhanced the speed and freshness as our stone fruit, grapes and melons moved through the system.”
It is a similar response from David Lynch, Clapham’s counterpart at Suncrop Produce, which provides Waitrose with organic and conventional tomatoes from sources such as Sardinia and Sicily, UK organic potted herbs and a range of vegetables and salads.
“We really have a tailor made operation which works very smoothly and is backed by all the necessary compliance requirements which are necessary when serving multiple customers,” he says.
“The key is that the staff know exactly what is needed and have become very experienced in all aspects of packing, selection, labelling and storage, all providing a high level of consistency.”
And the future looks even brighter. Bell reveals that there are already discussions going on with other interested parties.
“A number of companies who operate from depots in need of expansion or development see Frupac as a cost effective alternative,” he says. “We hope to make an announcement, within the forthcoming year, that there will be other category suppliers on site.”
Both Suncrop and British & Brazilian additionally benefit from the consolidated transport agreement for Waitrose suppliers using the nominated haulier, Funstons, based at Royston.
William Burgess, chief executive of Produce World, says he is prepared to make further investments on the spacious eight-acre site to accommodate other potential customers.
“We estimate that this will cost around a further £1 million, and will take six months to complete when the time is right,” he says. “The cash is ear-marked and waiting.”
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